Front Row Audio in Every Seat of the House: Mixhalo @ STAPLES Center
By Marc Ruxin, CEO of Mixhalo
“Upon approval by the artist, manager, agent and promoter, this technology will allow you to access feeds coming directly from the soundboard — so you’re hearing exactly what they’re hearing in the front row if you’re in the upper bowl of STAPLES Center,” said Lee Zeidman, President, STAPLES Center, Microsoft Theater and L.A. LIVE in front of a crowd of 150 AXS Sports Facilities & Franchises event attendees.
That ability to deliver pristine soundboard audio at concerts and events, enabling front row sound in even the most distant seats, the selection of a specific mix at a show, or multiple play-by-play channel options at a game, is just part of what sold Mr. Zeidman and his team on Mixhalo. Combine that with the fact that Mixhalo doesn’t rely on venue wifi or cell connectivity, or require the use of a custom wearable made it an ideal solution for STAPLES Center.
Some Context
After a busy summer that included raising a $10.7 million round of financing and test pilots at various music venues and the season’s hottest music festivals, we’re entering a new era beginning today with the deployment at STAPLES Center — the first major multi-use arena in the world to offer their guests Mixhalo for sports, music, award shows and other specialty events.
We’ve kicked off testing at STAPLES Center (a venue that extends well beyond sports), perfectly timed with Sports Business Daily’s Sports Facilities & Franchises Ticket Symposium, where the topics centered on the future of live events and ticketing.
The discussions focused on one key question: In a world of always-on, highly-customized content, how can producers, venue owners and others dedicated to delivering awesome live events innovate to create a more specialized experience? Obviously they don’t want a venue filled with people looking at their phones, hiding behind VR masks, or to take on massive capital expenses to make tiny improvements. True innovation is really hard. Mixhalo makes it easy to accomplish audio augmentation without much effort and cost to the operator.
We’re proud to say that the reception of Mixhalo as part of the solution has been stellar. Our promise to democratize audio at live events — giving every seat in the house real-time, quality sound straight from the board — is a perfect fit for venues like STAPLES where their audience may come for a basketball game one night, a concert later in the week, and round out the month at an awards show. Each event has a distinctly different soundtrack, but whatever it is, a stellar audience experience is paramount with multiple audio choices to choose from.
The challenge is real, and the solution is clear. With innovative technology, live events can deliver both the in-person connection and the immersive experience people pay to see, alongside a level of personalization and access to premium content they’ve come to expect in this digital age.
In the near future, check out Mixhalo at a game or a show. And hear what you came to hear.
